Opposition to a new natural gas processing plant in northern Taiwan has gained momentum. The company behind the plant is Taiwan’s state-run China Petroleum Corporation (CPC). Opponents say CPC’s plant will harm a patch of algal reefs along the coast of Taoyuan City, and they want to put the plans to a national referendum.
The proposed referendum question is still in the process of gathering signatures, and needs 289,000 in order to make it onto the ballot. Last week, media reports said the petition’s organizers were struggling to hit those numbers.
However, conservation groups rallied over the weekend, dispatching volunteers to over 500 areas to gather signatures. On Sunday, the groups announced that they had gathered almost 300,000 (296,697) signatures. They say they intend to collect 350,000 to ensure that the petition can hit the required figure after repeat and fraudulent signatures are excluded.
On Monday, Taiwan’s Cabinet came out in defense of the state-run petroleum company. It says environmental conservation is one of the government’s top priorities. However, it also says that ensuring Taiwan’s energy security is an important issue. The Cabinet has promised to carry out its energy infrastructure development plans with full transparency.